... and called them what they were; instead of pretending to be a prophet of God, who met an untimely and tragic demise?

If he'd used his energy and talents in an honest fashion, could he have been *at least* as successful, if not more than he was as a lying, scheming con artist preying on the hopes and fears of innocent men, women and children who mistook him for a man of the cloth?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2019 02:12PM by Amyjo.

My short answer is I believe he would've had more respect from his followers &/or admirers in the long run. And also been able to demonstrate that he was perhaps a man of integrity, instead of the rascal and the scoundrel he turned out to be. Assuming that he made an honest living writing books instead of fleecing the flock for whatever he could shake them down for.

How could an uneducated farm boy write novels?

Only a prophet could do that!

His father was a school teacher....uneducated my butt!

His father was a school teacher....uneducated my butt!

His father was a school teacher....uneducated my butt!

His father was a school teacher....uneducated my butt!

You've got a point, Roy!

Hell, no! The idiot had no talent. Even with great editing, his gory, amoral stories would not have been suitable for the readers of the time. Stories about polygamy wouldn't have been accepted, either.

When you read about sociopathic con-artists, in general, they have no real talent, education, or skills. Also, they are NOT more intelligent than the average person, contrary to what they sociopath believes about himself and convinces others to believe about him. Really, they are quite stupid to think they can get away with all those lies, to begin with. My brother, a nephew, an ex-husband and his brother were con-men, and they all ended up with nothing. Unqualified and unintelligent, these fools think that the only way they can make the kind of money they think they deserve, ASAP, is to scam people. This would apply to sex, as well, as with JS and his wives.

Just a thought: If JS were as handsome and charming and sexy as all that, playful women would have chased after him, right? He wouldn't have had to resort to complicated temple-marriage-polygamy lies and mumbojumbo to get women. The truth was, he was a creepy pedophile and a pervert, that most women would have immediately rejected!

L. Ron Hubbard wrote sci fi - and a whole church evolved from that, yes?

Fascinated in the Midwest Wrote:
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> L. Ron Hubbard wrote sci fi - and a whole church
> evolved from that, yes?

Pretty much. Like Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard had a big imagination but was a lousy writer. Both Ron and Joseph's books suck to read but they both were good at selling their bullshit.

Fascinated in the Midwest Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> L. Ron Hubbard wrote sci fi - and a whole church
> evolved from that, yes?


As mediocre a wrter as L. Ron may have been, he had more skills in that area than did Joe. Is there even a consensus that Joe actually wrote the bulk of his lousy book? My thought was that the reason his scribes weren't allowed to see him during "translation" was probably that he was reading some of it.

He even had a movie, Battlefield Earth. Where is the LDS equivalent?

BATTLEFIELD Earth!!!

Saturday WARRIOR!!!


Aren't both real humdinger war movies?

in b 4 ~ if a frog had wings ~


he would not bump his ass when a-hoppin' ~



if ziller's auntie had nutz ~


she would be his uncle ~

Well, the BOM wasn’t written by Joe, but plagiarized from another book by another Smith, unrelated.
Since he did have a weird,far fetched imagination, he could of had someone else write for him, (since he couldn’t write a darn anyway), science fiction stories about Quakers on the moon and adult themed stories, etc

By the way, what is this "success" you speak of?

Money? Power? Happiness? A good front? Fooling People?

He did. A trilogy: The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.

(Well maybe Rigdon wrote the BoM, but JS wrote the sequels.)

Well, everyone has to make a living. The difference between Smith and an honest man's wages is just that. Had he strived to earn an honest living I believe he could have been successful, and quite possibly lived longer and led a happier more productive life.

Wonder whether he had regrets in his final moments that if only he had chosen wisely? He had dug his own grave.

Con artists worst fear is publicity of getting found out. In his case it was old fashioned vigilante justice that caught up with him. Rather than due justice in a court of law.

His books were boring if not for the religious con that he used to sucker people into his web of lies and deceit. Yet he is remembered for having been something of a religious genius despite his narcissism and grand delusions considering the many people he duped. He might have parlayed his talent into something more profitable that would've sustained him and his family without costing him his life and a grisly death.

I don't think JS would have been good at plot, but his caractors would have been second to none.

I just saw a comparison of JS's 'caractors' that made a very good case for them simply being exaggerated versions of the cardinal numbers and the letters of the alphabet.

I'd look for it, but I know that you carry a copy of JS's caracters everywhere you go. Look at each one and you should be able to spot what number or letter it exaggerates.

Would I lie to you?

Next thing I know, you're going to tell me the BoM took place between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario--or JS didn't look like Brad Pitt.

Would you lie to me indeed!

Ahhhhhhhhh, he did write a novel... the book of mormon.

Maybe you haven't had a chance to read it yet?

Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah... I'm sorry, please excuse mt... it just strikes me as a hysterically funny question about a fiction writing con man who lied to win friends and make money and get multiple wives. How can anyone ask a serious question about a con man. Hahahahahhahahahahahahhah... I love it.

olderelder Wrote:
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> He did. A trilogy: The Book of Mormon, Doctrine &
> Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.
>
> (Well maybe Rigdon wrote the BoM, but JS wrote the
> sequels.)

Just think of all the movies & documentaries that's been turned into since.

Since much of what he wrote was plagiarized, he would've been sued under copyright law and his ship sunk thataway.

He still might have enjoyed some success as a writer or in some creative capacity that didn't involve pious fraud or dishonesty.

The last refuge of a scoundrel is religion, and that is where Joseph Smith met his undoing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2019 10:43AM by Amyjo.

I think he would've had a much easier life if he had just written a novel or two. His mother said how JS would tell them the most amusing stories, in intricate detail, in the evenings after dinner. I think though, that starting a new religion was the easiest way to make more money back then. His mistake was making polygamy and polyandry part of it. Wild Cat Banks were the thing also.

He became drunk on power and excess until it all came crashing down on him because he took it too far.

As for being humble and pious, he was neither.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2019 01:36PM by Amyjo.

valkyriequeen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think he would've had a much easier life if he
> had just written a novel or two. His mother said
> how JS would tell them the most amusing stories,
> in intricate detail, in the evenings after dinner.
> I think though, that starting a new religion was
> the easiest way to make more money back then. His
> mistake was making polygamy and polyandry part of
> it. Wild Cat Banks were the thing also.

Also another mistake was being both a religious leader and political leader. I think was spooked people most of all was you had a religious zealot that saw himself as a prophet wearing a general’s uniform leading the largest militia in the state of Illinois. Then the guy declares Marshall law and destroys the free press. That motivated people to get rid of Joseph more than anything.

Add to this the locals in the area who were not LDS viewed him as a threat to their wives and daughters. Logically so.

He was seen as a mad man on the loose in the neighborhood. Probably some of his biggest detractors were those who had left the cult and were calling him out.

Yeah, maybe bad ones.